A day after Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray shared the stage in a rare public appearance together, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut took a sharp dig at Raj Thackeray in his weekly column, questioning the political direction of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). Raut accused Raj Thackeray of cosying up to the BJP and Eknath Shinde camp during a critical period for the Shiv Sena.
In the column ‘Rokthok’ published on Sunday, Raut wrote, “Uddhav and Raj Thackeray’s paths in politics went in opposite directions. After the split caused by [Amit] Shah, Shiv Sena joined the Maha Vikas Aghadi along with the Congress and NCP. Raj Thackeray kept having tea with the BJP, Shinde group, etc. He even went to Delhi once to meet Amit Shah, but it did not benefit Maharashtra and the political path of MNS did not move forward.”
Raut went on to allege that the division between the Thackeray brothers was in the interest of “Delhi and the business politics here”, adding that it served the strategy of dividing Marathi voters and weakening their political unity.
He also accused the BJP and its allies of manipulating voter rolls, saying, “The BJP and its allies are winning elections by inserting lakh of migrant names in the voter lists. MNS was also defeated in this.”
Calling for greater unity among Marathi voters, Raut asserted, “It is in the interest of Maharashtra to increase the Marathi percentage of votes, and from that to raise a united challenge in all municipal, district council and Assembly elections. Only if this happens, the Marathi people will be able to live with self-respect.”
He concluded with a pointed remark aimed at what he described as empty theatrics, saying, “Otherwise, drums and drums will beat, roars will be raised, and trumpets will be blown. This enthusiasm should remain the same!”
Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray, the estranged cousins, shared a stage together on Saturday after 18 years of differences. The two reunited for a joint victory gathering titled ‘Awaj Marathicha’, to celebrate the Maharashtra government’s rollback of Hindi as an optional third language in primary schools and the three-language policy.
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